Tuesday, 18 November 2008

Skeleton Watch


Aesthetically it looks nice. Look a little closer and you'll see the number 4 is written wrong. Seriously its in the product picture go look right now I'll wait... I tried contacting the company to ask why 4 is written IIII instead of IV...after a week I have yet to hear a response. I also thought it a little strange that they have "Swiss" written half a billion times all over the box and their website. There is nothing Swiss about this watch. It is a cheap-o made in china watch.



My recommendation is to save your money for a better watch. If a company has to explain in its FAQ why the price on amazon is a lot less than the MSRP (which this company does. check it out sometime) it is just trying to cover up the fact that the watch is worth about a quarter of the selling price. Stuhrling Original Men's 313A.331531 Macbeth Classic Automatic Gold Skeletonized Dial Watch

This watch is truly remarkable for its price. Its a pleasure to look at and receives many compliments. Right out of the box there were no problems and it wound up great. I will say that hand wind wathces can get a little annoying at first but then you find yourself winding it regularly without much thought or frustration. It really looks like a much more expenseive piece than it is priced. It far exceeded my expectation in quality of finish, appearance, and function. For the money, you can't go wrong. I will definitely be purchasing more Stuhrling Original Watches.

Bang versus buck, how much you get for what you spend. This one's got it.

Downside:

I had expected a synthetic sapphire crystal. I don't know about their new process.

It is difficult to see the skeleton hands due to the busy interior

No where can I find where the pieces parts are from or where they are assembled. Not the watch, packing or website.

When you pull the crown out to set the watch, it keeps on running, you can't syncronize.

I think it is big, but that is the style. It is not cumbersome, not too heavy. My dress shirt and jacket slide over it with just one arm shake.

Upside:>

This watch presents itself extremely well. It has motion. It has depth. It displays a different look with different angles, a rare characteristic.

The case is stainless, the material and workmanship of the innards appear of quality.

At the price, this watch is an exceptional value.

This is a great watch. I work at a bank, getting comments on it all the time. Very professional looking, yet not too tight laced. Fun watch, recommend it well.



Good Watches, Good Times, Smooth Moves.

Received my Brand New Watch on time from Amazon. Large looking orange box, carefully packaged. Overall, and for the price, its a great looking timepiece. I did read the part that said "mechanical" winding so no surprises there...it really has been a long time since I had to do THAT, but happy for the looks and for the attraction and comments I get from it.

This is not a Swiss brand or some sort of name brand watch. It's like Fossil or those, just one of those market brands and is made in China. But that's fine, and it looks good with a large face. The workmanship looks good and part of the watch is clear to the rear side so you can see your tattoo on your wrist if you have one. I also have a MontBlanc auto wind watch and if I leave it on bed side for a night it slows down so I still have to adjust it almost daily. To that extend the old fashioned manual wind works fine with me. The band is a little hard to my taste, maybe it will get softer over time.

I saw someone criticized the number IIII instead of IV as Roman number should be, then I checked other watches such as Rolex and they all use IIII, so I guess that's the way watches are designed.

Overall for 80 bucks it's a nice eye catcher I feel.

I looked at the title and I wasn't careful enough to look at the details where it said "manual winding". So now I have to wind it up every morning :(



Also, it is hard to see time because of very thin hands in the open-heart watch.



Otherwise, the watch is very well made and is very beautiful. It feels like it is meant to be a piece of jewelry, not a device you can use to check time.

I got thisfor my father as his gift for fathers day and he was speechless!! The watch looks amazing, the attention to detail and the presentantion of the box is unique, makes a great gift even if its for yourself. Another review says its not an automatic but it is, it doesnt need a battery to run the movement which makes it an automatic timepiece and yes it is a manual winding watch, but it only takes a second to wind it!! overall it is a unique timepiece that anyone would enjoy specially on that price tag! Trust me it looks like a $20,000 watch.'


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Aurorae Yoga Mat - manduka yoga mat, yoga


I've practised on the Black & Purple Lite mats and this mat is right up there with the rest of them. The Black mat's too heavy for me as I travel frequently, and I find even the Purple Lite too heavy for shorter trips like hauling to & from the yoga studio. This Eko Lite's great for transporting/ travelling but still retains its heavy feel.



After a week of practice I can safely say it doesn't buckle like the other thin 3mm mats do. It sometimes looks as if the mat is uneven and doesn't sit flat on the floor smoothly, but when you're practicing you don't even feel it - it feels like a flat and solid mat. I practice in a heated room and after warming up, you do need a towel or yogitoes coz it gets slippery when wet (like most other rubber/ PVC mats too). But it grips well when doing a regular not-too-sweaty practice.



While researching this mat I couldn't find more close-up shots of what it looks like up-close, so I've taken some pictures here: http://skippettystreet.blogspot.com/2008/08/eko-lite-where-have-you-been-all-my.html



Overall, a highly recommended product, especially if weight is a consideration. Manduka eKO Lite Yoga Mat (Poseidon)

I purchased the thicker 5mm eKO mat by Manduka and I love it. I then purchased the light 3mm eKO mat to take to classes and I was very disappointed. I expected the mat to perform similar to the purple lite Manduka. Unfortunately, it didn't provide any support for my knees during poses. It is thinner than most "average" mats and actually provides less support. I was really disappointed. Lately, I've been using a studio mat under the 3mm eKO mat but I find it extremely frustrating and cumbersome. I've broken down and purchased another mat, the purple Manduka mat to take to class. I totally feel like I've wasted $40 on this purchase. I highly recommend the 5mm mat or the purple (lite) mat by Manduka, but not this one. It definitely missed the mark compared to other Manduka products. I gave it two stars because I don't slip....

I had a cheap $20 mat for yoga that started to fall apart. In particular the wear points of successive downward dogs, etc. I decided to spend a bit more and get this mat. The smell of rubber is quite strong but not too bad. The biggest problem is that the surface is too slippery. Even at the start of my workout before I begin to sweat I cannot maintain a downward dog because my hands slowly slide. Frustrating that I wasted my money. I may have to go back to a cheaper mat. I have tried washing it but no difference.

Prior to obtaining the Manduka eKO Lite, I practiced for years on a thin, inexpensive yoga mat that I had received as part of a kit. I always thought that I had no need of a pricey yoga mat; my old mat was a familiar friend, and it suited me fine. But from the moment I rolled out my new eKO Lite, I knew I had been wrong.



First of all, the eKO Lite, although about the same thickness as my old mat (1/8") had a much weightier feel; despite having been rolled up in a box for shipment, it immediately lay completely flat, virtually hugging the floor, with absolutely no lumps or buckling of any kind. Several other reviewers have mentioned that this mat has an odor; this is something that Manduka discusses on their web site, as it is related to the natural products which are used to create the mat. And yes, my mat did have a fairly strong, natural rubber scent when I first received it. However, I didn't find this scent to be particularly unpleasant, and it didn't stop me from using the mat the day after I received it. Furthermore, as instructed by Manduka, I left my mat unrolled for a few weeks, and now, after owning it for about a month, I can barely discern any smell at all.



Now, on to the most important issue: practicing with the eKO Lite! I am so impressed by the degree to which the surface of this mat grips my hands and feet during asanas--although I had thought my old mat was fine, the difference is astounding. Furthermore, my former mat tended to shift around under my feet a bit while performing certain standing postures, such as the warrior poses, but the eKO Lite does not--as mentioned above, it gripes my feet AND the floor, so I stay in place and the mat does too. I am not sure why others mentioned problems with sliding on this mat, as I have not had this issue at all, although I admit, I am not much of a sweater (perhaps those who sweat profusely would be happier with Manduka's original Black mat, which is much thicker and supposedly good for this purpose; I haven't tried it myself).



Finally, in terms of aesthetics: my eKO Lite is green (my favorite color!), and the Moss truly is a pretty shade, yet another thing to like about my new mat. The only (minor) downside about this mat is the size. I realize that because it is the eKO "Lite," it is designed to be the smaller, thinner, lighter, more travel-friendly version of Manduka's original eKO mat, which comes in at 71" x 26" and 7 lbs. (the eKO Lite weighs only 3.5 lbs.). Still, for this price, I still would've liked to have have seen a slightly larger than standard-sized mat, even if it was only to add a single extra inch all around. I should also note that at 1/8" thick, this is not a particularly cushy mat--that is fine with me, but if you like a thicker mat, you may want to go with the original eKO, which is 3/16".



Overall, however, I am extremely happy with my Manduka eKO Lite mat--it has definitely made practicing yoga even more pleasurable! I wouldn't hesitate to recommended trying the eKO Lite (or the eKO if you need more cushioning) to anyone wanting a high quality, high performance, and attractive mat that's environmentally friendly too.

Manduka eKO 3mmYoga Mat

The yoga mat is exactly as described in the catalog. When you get it you will need to unroll it and let it breathe for a week at least. The rubber smell is very powerful. After it breathes, it is quite good and works very well. Not a lot of cushioning (if you need/want that) but a very good, non-slip surface for pilates or yoga. - Manduka - Mat - Manduka Yoga Mat - Yoga'


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Refrigerator Accessories - fridge filter, pur


It seems there are a LOT of misuderstandings in these reviews. If you own a Sears refridgerator it IS a Whirlpool, or Kitchen Aid, or whatever else with a "Kenmore" name plate on it. Sears doesn't make their appliances and they purchase appliance from varios companys and put their "Kenmore" brand on it. I have a Whirlpool fridge, Whirlpool dishwaher, and GE microwave. They all say Kenmore and the stainless stell matches perfectly. A Sears sales rep will tell you who makes the specific unit. This is true for Kenmore washers & dryers as well, all appliance. Secondly, Whirlpool, Kitchen Aid, Kenmore, etc. do not make the filters. Sears, Whirlpool, etc. sell the filter with their markings on it. PUR make the filter. This is not a cheaper replacement for the filter, it is the same filter. I have been using PUR filters bought on-line for 5 years now and it is the same filter that came in the refridgerator when I bought it. The only thing to keep in mind is that the "universal PUR Filter", that fits all push button, in the grill units, does not have the same filtration as the the specific PUR filter that comes with the fridge. For example the "Universal" filter is about $26 on Amazon and my fridge came with a PUR 4396710 which cost about $32 on Amazon. Both will work, but the $32 unit filters out about 11 types of impurities, the $26 unit is 4 types. I buy the 4396710 to protect my 2 year old and wife. What is $7 more when it's your family's health. They are about $50 each at Sears.



I hope this information helps clear up some misconceptions and helps people make an educated decision on what to buy. PUR PBSS Push-Button Refrigerator Water Filter

If you go to PUR's website, you'll find that this filter handles only 4 problem areas: (chlorine, sediment, lead, o-dichlorobenzene).



The more expensive #4396710 Kitchenaid/Whirlpool deals with 11 problem areas (the side of the box lists all these in detail: (chlorine, particulates, lead, mercury, benzene, o-dichlorobenzene, toxaphene, asbestos, cysts, turbidity, atrazine).



The strange thing is that the PUR website only seems to show the cheaper filter and its attendant 4 areas of filtering. It may just be my ineptness, but I couldn't find the other better filter on their website.



My wife, wanting the best water, always opts for the more expensive filter. It's around $60 in local area markets. I just ordered one from Amazon a couple of weeks ago for $35 delivered; other internet dealers carry it for around the same price.

First time changing filter. Not sure if all do this, but when i changed, we had extremely high pressure. Im guessing it was acting like there wasnt a filter in at all. Caused water to keep flowing a bit (without pressing).



After that strangeness, took about 6 pitchers to get airbubbles out of filter, etc.





Kenmore and Whirlpool are the samer thing more or less. Works fine now its been in use.



Definately cheaper than getting the kenmore one

I normally have a tough time finding a filter to fit my Kenmore fridge. Sears is great, but there are none close by to me now. This filter fits perfectly (even though it says Whirlpool) and works great. Ice and water taste so much better than the water straight out of the tap.



Only wish is that Amazon sold them in a 2 pack (since they need changing every 6 months) or subscription.

Quite simply, this works just the same as the Kenmore filter and costs a lot less money. By the way, a service man told us that even this filter is good for twice the use that the light on the refrigerator suggests. Just reset the light and you keep on using it. We've done this and noticed no degrading of taste or water flow.

I purchased this filter for my Kenmore side-by-side, which I got from Sears in late 2007. The "official" part number for the water filter my fridge uses is 9030. It is a Pur brand filter.



This one is indeed the correct size/fit; and, as others have mentioned, is much cheaper than getting the one with the Kenmore brand stamped on it. Buy with confidence!

This product, made by PUR, fits Sears and Whirlpool referigerators.

The key to interchangeability is " push button " filter, in the lower, bottom grill.

Sears wants $50 and local Whirlpool retailler wants $40.

$29.99 is a much better price. Shipping might raise the price a little, but much cheaper than Sears shipping. I hope that this article is linked to the item that I bought, PUR PBSS filter.

I have a Kenmore, and buying the new cartridges through Sears was more expensive ($50/each + shipping). I'm guessing the filter through Sears is probably a higher quality filter, but for the price I think this one'll do! We've had no problems at all. - Kenmore - Pur - Fridge Filter - Water Filtration'


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Upper Back Pain - brace, posture brace


I just recieved my shoulders back posture support brace, and I couldn't be happier.

It fits nicely, and it's much more comfortable than I thought it would be. The fabric isn't irritating, although you can sometimes feel the velcrow if you misplace the straps.

It really does force your shoulders back! It is a constant reminder to sit up straight, but it also does half the work for you.

You can wear it under or on top of clothing, either way is comfortable but it also makes you look some what lumpy if you have a thin t-shirt on.

As soon as I put it on, I could feel it working right away. It is a bit painful because I've been slouching my whole life, but a little pain is definately worth the results.

I would recommend this to anyone who is in need of posture control! ShouldersBack Posture Support - ShouldersBack Lite - Medium - Black

I would highly recommend the ShouldersBack brace to anyone needing to improve their posture. The brace is comfortable to wear (when you are sitting or standing up straight) and as your posture improves can be worn for longer periods of time. The habit of slumping is gradually replaced with better posture as the back muscles strengthen and wearing time for the brace can be reduced as holding your shoulders back becomes natural.

One of the most important things in purchasing from Amazaon is the ability to work with the seller on satisfaction issues. I had previously left a semi-negative type of feedback for this seller. Amazingly, this seller left me two emails trying to reach me to ensure their willingness to work with me. The seller gave me several options to make sure I would be happy with the purchase or offered me a full refund. I am keeping the product as the seller went out of their way to address and rectify my concerns. I have previously bought three different types of posture supports and this is exactly what I was looking for. It supports and corrects with the same comfort of all posture support products however, this one is easier to get off and on for those of us with severe neck issues. I prefer this particular brand as it has a semi-full back gathering which prevents the product from riding up your back causing the front of the shoulder support to bear down on the armpits like other supports. I would very highly recommend this product as the seller is receptive and eager to make sure their customers are happy. Again, this is the most important aspect of considering buying from any seller. It is vital to know if you are not happy, someone will 'be there'. Not only were they 'there', they went above and beyond to contact me instead of me pulling my hair out trying to figure out 'how' to get a hold of someone. Highly recommended...

I have scoliosis and have been told since I was in 4th grade to "sit up straight." After a year of chiropractor visits, he recommended ShouldersBack to keep my shoulders from curving inward. It has worked incredibly well and has corrected my posture so markedly that my friends have commented on the improvement. It was uncomfortable for the first few days, but considering that I have been slouching for 15 years, that is to be expected. I would definitely recommend this product to anyone with similar issues.

I wear this when I workout and in the evenings. It does a great job of putting my posture in the correct position. Some people say it's painful to wear, however you are developing the muscles that are needed for correct posture and that will make you a little sore (no pain no gain). The soreness is similar to feeling sore after a workout. After using it for a week or so I no longer feel uncomfortable when I wear it or sore after I wear it. It's easy to put on and take off without help. I would recommend this product for people like me who have been "hunched over" for a long time.

For years and years, I've had upper back pain (in the spot where my arms meet in the back. I've gone to chiropractors and massage therapists. Each time, my back felt better after a visit, but the pain returned.



I wish I had known about these posture supporters earlier, because I could have saved myself a lot of money! I've been using it for about a month. I wear it to work most days, depending on what I'm wearing. It was hard to get used to for a few days, but my upper back pain has disappeared.



The downside to this product is that, when summer comes, I'm not sure how I will be able to wear this without it being seen. But that did not affect my rating, since any product that keeps your shoulders back effectively would by necessity have this problem. I think this product achieves its aim with a minimum of visibility.



Hopefully, by summer my muscles will have retrained themselves and I won't need to wear it as often.



I would definitely recommend this product.

I have all sorts of back pain much of which I attribute to slouching and rolling my shoulders forward. This device seems to work really well IF it is adjusted properly. I say this because the one criticism I have is that it is really hard to adjust. It seems like it could have been designed a little better in that respect.



That said, if you get it just right, it gives a great, and constant, reminder to sit up and push your shoulders back. It is actually tiring to sit this way so my advice it to wear it so that it is just barely uncomfortable for a few hours at a time and increase the time each day.



PS. As a guy I do have to add that it is a little embarrassing to wear this in the gym. Looks like a bro, or would that be a manzier?

It holds my shoulders back when I'm working at my computer. I don't know how well the velcro will hold up since I wear it outside my clothes and take it on and off when I leave my desk. The first time I wore i under my shirt and had chafing by the end of the day. I had on a v neck and it showed around the tops of the shoulders. You'd have to wear it with a crew neck for it not to show so it won't work well underneath most summer clothes. I don't have pain when wearing except after the first day it felt like I pulled a small muscle in my neck by the collar bone. Understandable since all my muscles in front have been shortened due to the rounding of my shoulders. I'm hoping with exercise and wearing the support that my back muscles will eventually shorten and the front ones lenthen to where they should be. - Back - Posture Brace - Shoulder - Brace'


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Inexpensive - disposable fountain pen, pilot


Before I ventured whole hog into the land of refillable fountain pens, I started with the Pilot Varsity. One of the most important things with any fountain pen is that it write smoothly, without and skipping, hard-starting or scratchiness. I've purchased two of these pens, (one black and one purple) and each of them wrote quite smoothly.



I did notice that the nibs are very easy to damage. Slipping this pen back into it's cap while tilted on a slight angle (yes, completely my fault) caused me to bend one of the nib tines to the degree that it was unusable and had to be thrown away. Nibs on regular/refillable fountain pens are made of a much stronger material, and while they still can be damaged, are not as flimsy as the material used on the Varsity nibs.



The next thing I noticed, wasn't until I bought my first, (2nd, 3rd, 4th , etc.) non-disposable fountain pen. The Varsity nibs write really, really wide and on cheap paper, the ink bleeds and feathers all over the place. It's just not suitable for all kinds of paper.



Keeping in mind that it's a disposable pen, it's actually a great way to test the waters before venturing into the land of fountain pens. Fountain pens in general require very little pressure to write and the Varsity is no exception. A light hand will deliver a solid line. Being able to write with light pressure allows a person to write for longer periods of time with less hand fatigue and cramping - which is why I use a fountain pen 98% of the time.



Once you decide to take the plunge and buy a refillable fountain pen, check out the Lamy Safari Charcoal Fountain Pen w/ Extra Fine Nib with an optional Lamy Safari Converter Z24 so you can refill with any kind of fountain pen ink you choose. If you want a classier looking pen, try the Pelikan Tradition Series 150 Black GT Fine Point Fountain Pen - 993535 Varsity Disposable Fountain Pen, Medium Point, Black Barrel/Black Ink PIL90010 - Pilot - Disposable Fountain Pen - Varsity - Disposable'


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Laptop Accessories - accessories, slim external dvd rw


Before buying this item, I carefully went over the previous review, and decided to give it a try. I was happy to see that the negative issues listed in that review had not only been addressed, but resolved. The "yellow" port seen on the picture was not actually on the player as stated in the review, but the new instructions show exactly where to plug everything. The LG external came with an installation cd, as well as being a "plug and play" item. The directions were well written, and easy to follow. I was able to view dvds within minutes of opening the package, and my crappy old computer had no issues with this hardware whatsoever. I'm on windows xp, which seems to take issues with everything, LOL, but not this item. While you can just "plug and play", after installing the programs on the cd you are given several desktop shortcuts to access exactly what you are trying to do (i.e. burn a cd, burn a dvd), and the directions are step by step from there.

This item is well worth the money, and its quality would be worth even more. I highly recommend this external! NEW USB 2.0 Slim External DVDRW DVD DVDRW CD+RW CDRW Drive Writer Burner

I ordered this device to compliment my ASUS Eee 1000HE netbook. The item arrived in a short period and plug and played well. I haven't as of yet had the chance to use the device to burn either a CD or DVD so can not provide information on that. I was impressed how easy it was to just plug it in and start watching a DVD. The quality was great.



I was confused however because the device did not look like the picture. There is an extra plug and yellow connector shown in the picture that is not on the device. I was also disappointed with the manual....if you can call it that. There were three little pages and by little I mean 2 x 3 only one page was in english and half the page they talked about using a disc to install the USB device so not being a computer guru I wondered where is the disc? The instructions then stated that if the device does not run smooth apply external power.....well again there is no external power cord so I guess I need to provide my own.



It is a good price and it performs the functions I purchased it for so to me it is a good buy. My complaints are ninor and not with the function of the item but the marketing and instructions.

Just got it and have noticed the door does not close properly most of the time. Also had to change the properties of the device to play cd's before I could burn anything. The device actually kept appearing then disappearing in my Control Panel. Overall it seems to be a pretty good unit. Once I finally got it all squared away it worked quite well.

This equipment breaks new ground in low dvd burner prices but it should be purchased with some knowledge of the product. The drive boasts that additional drivers are not needed, but this may not be accurate depending on your computer's operating system. The drive installed ok on my 32bit Windows 7 machine but would not install on my 64 bit computer which complained of a lack of the appropriate driver. Usually, one can find workable drivers on the manufacturer's website, but this drive lacks any brand identification. This has been a continuing problem with Windows 7--the 32 bit system installs ok but drivers are missing for the 64 bit system. A mini-cd was included which installs Nero burner code on your system and also has a driver for Windows 98 SE! Also, my AVG FREE virus software on the 64 bit machine claimed that 2 back-door Trojans were on the little cd, but a system check after the installation attempt showed no malware was installed. This is often the behavior of false alarms from the virus protection software, but it may be especially important that you have good virus software installed in order to deal with any problems. This little drive will probably work out ok for me, but I'm glad that I have a fairly solid basis of computer knowledge and experience.

I thought this burner was easy to use with good quality. Sometimes the door didn't close properly, but it wasn't a big problem. Here we are, less than 5 months later, it doesn't work at all. You have to use a paper clip to open the door and it doesn't burn DVD's or music CDs. Waste of money!

I bought this product because my 8-year-old HP desktop computer did not have a DVD drive. Earlier I had bought some expensive new software, Adobe Acrobat, and didn't know that a DVD drive was required to install it. My computer has Windows XP Pro and Service Pack 2.



So I thought I'd try the Power Optical external DVD drive. One important factor in my choice of this product was that the product technical specs said that the USB cable was 2.0 but was "compatible down with USB 1.1." I figured that as old as my computer is, it would be USB 1.1. I also read the two favorable reviews already posted here.



The DVD drive worked perfectly and was very easy to use. I just plugged it into the port with the USB 2.0 cable, and as soon as the unit powered up, I put my Adobe installation disc in it and installed my software without any problems.



I did not install the Nero media management software that came with the DVD drive for two reasons. First, I don't need it at this time, since all I wanted to do was install my Adobe, not view or burn DVDs. Second, I have read lots of bad reviews of Nero. Might try Nero later.

If your computer has never had a dvd player installed before, do not buy this. No software is included. You will need a dvd decoder to play a dvd (search for Microsoft dvd decoder to check your machine). If you don't have it, you will have to pay ~$15 to buy it. I had some old software around that installed a decoder, but I am still trying to successfully burn any type of cd.



The directions are inadequate as a previous reviewer indicated. There is no way to get help with the device. Stick with a name brand. This is no bargain. - Slim External Dvd Rw - Computer - Accessories - Dvd Drive'


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Laptop Speakers - fm, iphone speakers


I saw the Simplyvibe S350P speakers had great reviews and then I saw the same company had another model that has a LCD display for the same price. I decided to buy this one even though I wanted a black color. Well, I am happy that I did. When I tried it out I was truly WOW'ed by the number of things it can do.



The speakers are more than decent first off. They also threw in a ton of cool features too. It can play MP3s from SD and USB drives, plus FM stations (with auto tuning), plus a Calendar and Clock w/ Alarm settings. It's mind blowing how they can fit all of these things in a tiny speaker that's about the size of a hotdog bun. It even has like 20 language settings if you want Spanish or French?! I am glad it uses a rechargeable lithium battery and not pricey alkaline batteries.



Ok, here's the kicker (it took me a minute to figure out): It has a built in microphone so you can record voice AND FM music playing from the speaker at the same time. You just need to insert a SD card. That's just insane.



I haven't tried all the functions yet, but I am sure it has some other things that I will discover. I only had it for a day, but I had to write a review. Maybe I'll upload a video later if I have time.



For the price, I would've been happy if it just allowed me to amplify the weak speakers on my iPad and iPhone. The only Con was that it didn't come in Black color. Rarely, do I get this excited about anything I buy that's not Apple, but this product is COOL in my book! SimplyVibe SV-X6 Premium Rechargeable FM, MP3 Player and Portable Speakers (White Color) w/ DSP Bass for iPad, iPod, iTouch, iPhone, Laptops (Mac/ PC) and Mobile Devices (Lithium Battery)

I love the idea of this. It has everything I am looking for: iphone connectivity, mobility, rechargeable battery (5 hours), great sound, and fm radio. It has a few other things like SD card slot and recording ability that I probably won't use. The price is great too.

This little speaker provides a great balance of sound quality, loudness, compact size 6" w, 2.5" h, 1.5" d; light weight, versatile features, and battery life. In my relative comparison background for the X6 sound quality, I have listened to the Jambox closely; used the Saitek SD mini pop-up, and I regularly use a Logitech 715i, and Altec orbit 237 USB powered - which is great for notebook use because it is always ready with no battery and a single cord plug-in. In my opinion the X6 is better than the Saitek and orbit series and gives the Jambox a run for the money invested.



The SV-X6 is in a different class, the very-compact low-cost class - portable and easy to move around, it produces satisfying sound quality and reasonable bass response. The X6 is rugged, I have bounce-dropped it several times with no issues. It is easily tucked into a notebook accessory bag-pouch, or held in the same hand as my connected phone or MP3 player while moving around, it also fits in my back pocket for quick carry. Good for sound during a group presentation, and I occasionally use it as a speaker phone with my Motorola bravo phone's mic and line out - it works well.



Considering its size, it produces good sound quality and volume level in music and talk shows, incorporating a full range 40 mm driver with a second bass driver, 2 watts power producing more loudness than most in this class. It also has a rubber base pad making it slip-stable and non-scratching on furniture; I use it as an alarm-clock-radio, it occupies a small footprint on my night table.



What makes the X6 stand out from the other ultra-mini speakers is having a sensitive integrated FM radio, SD card reader and display for music (16 GB works fine, using 128kbps, 160 kbps and 256 kbps MP3), an alarm-clock with FM-radio/SD-card-music wake up or buzzer, and removable-rechargeable battery. Its display is small but usable, better than having none. Additional removable rechargeable BL-5C batteries can be acquired for five to ten dollars in 600 mAhr to 1020 mAhr; making X6 even more versatile, you can have a spare battery ready at the picnic or beach to continue use. I currently use a 1020 mAhr from a phone, it shipped with 600 mAhr. The user interface is a little goofy, but adequate. It has a turn-off timer which unfortunately has to be set each time it is used. Blue-tooth capability would be a great addition, though would add cost and battery drain. The X6 in my opinion is the best sounding, very small, wire-connected, multifunction-rechargeable-speaker I have used. I recommend it.



Update 2011-04-25



I decided to increase my rating from a four star to a five star rating. At our family party this weekend, folks commented on how great the sound quality is, with very good bass response, mid-range, and highs, very small, "large speaker sound from a mini-speaker" one said. The battery life using a 1020 mAhr battery (from a Nokia go-phone) has been phenomenal, even at nearly the loudest setting, outdoors it produces enough volume to project enjoyably well.

I initially bought this unit for the FM radio option it has, and am very impressed with it. The reception is great. There is an auto station search function that selects all available stations in my area. I run that function, and then delete extra stations assigned to the memory which I don't use. The station memory has survived a battery swap. The FM antenna is in the case somewhere. There is no wire or antenna rod to pull out. The antenna reception appears to be quite effective. One minor problem with the FM radio is when using the menu functions for the FM radio, it is quite easy to select the erase all stations options. I then go through the steps I use to reset the memory to the stations I prefer. It's pretty simple to do, but if the FM menu navigation was arranged a bit different, this would not be a problem.



One important thing to note: The buttons for menu navigation on this device are not responsive unless the menu screen is being displayed. Therefore, you may have to press a menu button twice when using various options. The first press will turn on the menu display, and subsequent presses will then perform the desired functions.



I thought I would try the devices ability to play music from a SD card. I placed a few MP3's and WMA files on the device and was immediately impressed with the sound quality. It was hard for me to believe that this little hotdog bun sized device could produce sound of this quality. The volume can go quite loud without distortion. The problems I found when using the SD music option is menu navigation. It took a while to figure this out, since the instructions that come with the unit are very basic. What I learned is that the buttons on the device do different things based on what the device is doing at that moment. For example, if you are playing a song you have the ability to navigate to options for random or normal song selection, equalizer settings, and replay option settings. If the music playing is paused, button presses will perform different functions (like navigating to different music folders). When using the "random" music playback setting it does not appear that it is a "smart" random option. I have noticed songs being repeated in the music folder before all songs have been played. Also, the random option seems to only work for music in a single folder. I don't believe when using the random setting the device will progress to a different folder like it does when using the "normal" setting. When using the "normal" setting, the player will advance to the next folder and continue playing music. If you wish to use the buttons to navigate to different folders, you must first pause the music playback to achieve this function. Depending on how you set up your music folder structure on your SD card, the navigation can be a bit cumbersome. But, with a bit of practice, the navigation is very useful. Since you cannot create playlists on this device, you can use folders on the SD card to mimic a type of playlist capability. One word of caution when doing this is that in order to actually switch to the new folder, you must actually select a song in that folder and then press play. Otherwise the menu reverts back to the previous song that was playing, and menu navigation must begin all over again to get to the music folder you wish to play.



The battery life in this unit is pretty good. The unit comes with a 600mAh which should play the unit for 5 hours or more when the new battery has been fully cycled a few times. This device takes a Nokia BL-5C type battery. I actually purchased two high capacity batteries ($7.00 each) from Eastmaze. The battery was shipped directly from China (I did not know this from the web site when ordering). The battery rating is 1400mAh. I cycled the battery a couple of times. To fully perform a single cycle of the battery, I use a fully charged battery until the device shuts off, then immediately charge the battery to full state again. In my experience when doing this with a new battery it will be a much better performer. I have gotten about 10 hours of continuous play time with the high capacity battery I purchased. It seems to me to be pretty amazing battery life. One reviewer mentioned that the battery life does not last overnight. I believe that may have been due to the devices menu system. If you just pause the player, the display will go blank, and it's easy to think the device is off. When turning off this device, you must hold down the "play" button until you see "SimplyVibe" display on the menu. The device will then properly shut down and battery depletion should not be occurring.



When this device is hooked to a laptop or portable DVD player the sound is just as amazing as when using SD cards.



Even though I have a few minor gripes about this devices menu navigation, I am giving it a 5 star rating due to the exceptional sound it produces for its size. Also, to charge this unit you can use any mini USB AC power adapter. I use an old Razor cell phone charger. It works great, and I believe that charging stops when full because the battery does not seem to get hot at all.



Whoever designed this product seems to know something about the science of acoustics. - Laptop Speakers - Portable Speakers - Iphone Speakers - Fm'


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Blackberry Torch 9800


Here goes. I bought this device because I love that it combined the full qwerty keyboard with a touchscreen. I found out that not everything that glitters is gold.



I love:



Full keyboard, camera and display on this device. It has a very smooth track to open the keyboard. It's simply a perfect idea in its conception.



I hate:



It's slow and I mean slow on the processor end. It takes some getting used to in order to delete multiple messages, but the WORST is that when I am on a call, the darn thing intermitently pushes numbers (like if your toddler was trying to get your attention and starting pushing the button on the phone to make them beep). It also has put people on speaker phone while we are talking which is a big no-no for me. Lastly, it hangs up while I'm on a call, which is the worst insult of all. And no, I don't have a fat cheek.



I can't imagine that RIM's engineers and beta testers didn't run into the problem. At least with my IPhone, the screen goes black when you put it up to your ear so this doesn't happen. I say back to the drawing board and I'm sending this back. BlackBerry 9800 Torch Unlocked Phone with 5 MP Camera, Full QWERTY Keyboard, 4 GB Internal Storage, and Slider Card Slot Up to 32GB - International Version with No Warranty (Black)

I've been through a couple 8220 Flips and a 9550 Storm 2 that I've owned and I've used a few Curves and Bolds and this is by far the best Blackberry, hands down. Trying to compare it to previous BB models is downright unfair as it blows the all out of the water. The touch screen is a huge improvement over the Storm 2 and its nice to see standard gestures like pinch to zoom are supported. The fact that it has the full querty keyboard and trackpad makes it an easy transition from non-touch phones and also makes it more efficient in general as a lot of operations feel more natural doing it the "old-fashioned" way instead of touch-screen.

The camera is much improved and BB OS6 is a huge improvement over previous versions. I love Social Feeds and how tightly the apps integrate with your contacts and the phone sofware in general. The new search feature is great too; just start typing and it brings results from contacts, emails, social feeds, applications, etc.



So basically, as far as Blackberrys are concerned, you can't go wrong!



Compared to other smartphones and mainly the iPhone4 you can tell that the touchscreen still has a ways to go before it reaches the same maturity as the others who've been doing this for longer. Also, as far as apps go, its definitely lacking. There are very few good free apps and games and the games are just downright terrible compared to the amazing stuff that's coming out for iPhone. That said, gaming probably isn't a big priority if you want a Blackberry.



All in all, I'm very satisfied! I've been wanting this phone for over 6 months and watched tons of reviews and hyped the thing up so much and despite all of that I still managed to get surprised with this phone. It's awesome!



Pros

----

+ Real touchscreen with all gestures

+ Trackpad and QWERTY Keyboard = best of both worlds

+ BB OS6 is great

+ 5MP camera



Cons

----

- Touch is a little awkward at times

- Freezes/chokes for a few seconds occasionally

- Lacking in app department

- Crappy games

I bought the phone to be used in India and so far it has been a good phone and works as expected. Below are pros and cons in my opinion



Pros

1. Good looking and sturdy feel.

2. It has the most recent blackberry OS which is a bit more user friendly and intuitive than the previous version

3. The touchscreen interface is similar to iPhone and much better than the BB storm



Cons

1. The touch keyboard is not as reponsive as the iPhone. It may get better with more practice but atleast initially it feels a bit clumsier and tad too sensitive. The physical keyboard is good.

2. The OS is still not as user friendly as the iPhone's iOS.

3. The BB appworld is a joke compared to Apple. Also the fact there are multiple sources for downloading the apps takes some getting used to. Some of the apps such as Vonage and Skype are not available for blackberry torch. I hope this gets resolved soon.



Overall, not a bad phone.

I had this phone for over a month now, and here are just some thoughts about it.



I enjoy reading online novels, and having this phone I am allow to sit in my car reading something while just chilling or waiting for someone.

It works perfectly fine with some short stories. But when it goes to loading huge amount of texts (300,000 and up), it takes quite some time(maybe 3 or 4 minutes or even more) to just finish downloading the page, and then it will take another 2 minutes to adjust the format as you zoom in. And if you are not careful enough holding the device up tight and so happen to flip it just a bit (or maybe just taking a sip of a drink or a call), it will automatically change its viewing from straight to side and here goes another extra 2 minutes again.

I don't know if iphone or android have the same problem; yet I am actually fine with waiting the initial 3 minutes of the loading part.

But honestly, I think it should have some sort of applications to lock the viewing as you are surfing the internet.



And sometimes, it doesn't happen very often, while you are surfing the internet, the page somehow freezes and the back of the device starts heating up. And within 1 or 2 minutes period, the battery life suddently drops about 30%. I kinda worry if this is goning to damage the device.



The actual keyboard is awesome, but the touch screen keyboard is just retarded. You often typed in the letter below the one you actually typed.



The camera doesn't have a tiny mirror next to it, so it's really hard for you to take a picture of yourself.



The back cover became a bit lose after I accidently dropped it six inches height to the desk, but it is probably my own fault (however I still haven't found the part that makes the cover lose).



I think it's an ok device, and if rim fixes the touch screen keyboard and make some adjustments to the internet surfing, I'd rate it as 4 stars.'


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